By Ben Berkowitz | Reuters â€"Â
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Best hats at the Kentucky Derby
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Connecticut man held on $1M bond for allegedly killing dad, says he heard voices
A 22-year-old Wilton man has been arraigned on a murder charge in the beating and stabbing death of his 73-year-old father.
Aaron Ramsey was arrested Thursday after police responded to a report that a man covered in blood had run into a home on Cheese Spring Road and gone to sleep on the floor.
Police later responded to the Ramsey family's home, where they found the father, Edward Ramsey, dead of multiple injuries.
Authorities say Aaron Ramsey acknowledged attacking Edward and told them he heard voices that said his father had magic powers and could heal himself.
Police say the younger Ramsey said he ran away because aliens were chasing him.
A Superior Court judge Friday kept Ramsey's bond at $1 million and ordered a mental health evaluation.
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Breathe Easy At Home
Having a healthy home isn't necessarily about making every surface spotless. (Phew!) But a bit of strategic cleaning protects you from germs and toxins. In fact, concentrations of some pollutants can be two to five times greater inside our homes than they are outdoors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency-a worrisome fact considering we spend, on average, 90 percent of our time indoors.
What's more, ordinary objects like a dirty dish towel or neglected houseplant "can provide just the right environment for harmful microbes to grow," said Kelly Reynolds, PhD, associate professor of environmental sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Fortunately, small changes, whether it's shaking out your welcome mat or installing a water filter, can improve the well-being of your home-and everyone in it. Here, the most important moves to make.
Step up your doormat
About 60 percent of the dust in our home comes from outside-most of it tracked in on the bottom of our shoes, research says. And those tiny particles are made up of a combination of all sorts of icky things like human skin, animal fur, food debris, lead, and even arsenic.
"Fortunately, using the right kind of doormats can help reduce dirt, pesticides, pollen, and other pollutants in your home," said Dr. Oluremi Aliyu, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Pick an abrasive one (it will grab more gunk) made of synthetic fibers like nylon yarn or polypropylene.
Then don't forget to clean it: "Vacuum or shake out your mat once a week," advised Linda Cobb, cleaning expert and author of Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean. Once a month, do a deep clean: Scrub it with a scrub brush and warm, soapy water, then hose it off.
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Filter your tap water
Your home H2O can contain bacteria, chemicals, and other pollutants, including heavy metals like lead. At least 74 million Americans in 42 states drink tap water containing chromium (a metal that in some forms can cause cancer), a study from the Environmental Working Group reveals.
And although chlorine is necessary to disinfect our water supply, large amounts can damage healthy cells. The chlorine can also react with other elements in water to form compounds that have been linked to cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects. Long-term exposure to water contaminants-via drinking or inhalation (such as in the steam from your shower)-can also lead to blood, bone, and lung diseases, noted Dr. Michael Roizen, chairman of Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute.
For extra peace of mind, invest in a water filter for your kitchen faucet that is certified by the National Science Foundation (such as Pur or Brita). In the shower, install a carbon filter to help remove chlorine as well as metals that may leach out of pipes. Remember: "The longer water has been sitting in the pipes, the higher the metal content, so let it run for a few seconds before showering," Roizen added.
Swap out your dish towels
Kitchen cloths are one of the biggest sources of bacteria in our homes, housing roughly 134,630 bacteria per square inch (anything more than 1,000 is cause for concern), according to a survey by the Hygiene Council. "Constantly damp rags are a breeding ground for bacteria like E. coli and salmonella," Reynolds said.
Research from the University of Arizona shows that kitchen rags can even contain MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria that can cause serious infection. To cut down on germs, let towels dry completely between uses and change them daily, Reynolds advises. Or just stick to disposable wipes to clean spills and countertops.
Don't forget the faucet
Unpleasant fact: Your kitchen sink's faucet handles may contain as many as 13,227 bacteria per square inch, reveals the Hygiene Council. Mold and bacteria (including E. coli and staph) thrive on damp surfaces like faucet handles-a place we often miss when cleaning-and can then be transferred to food during the prep process.
Sanitize sinks by scrubbing with bleach or vinegar, and clean faucets and handles with wipes specifically labeled "disinfectant." "Anything else won't kill germs, just spread them around," noted Reynolds. And dry off handles to make them less hospitable to bacteria.
Wipe down your bed frame
We all know that bedding provides a comfy home for allergy-triggering dust mites, but did you know your bed frame might, too?
"Dust mite feces (the part we're most allergic to) become part of the dust that hides in headboard and bedframe crevices," said Paul Ehrlich, MD, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine and president of the New York Allergy & Asthma Society.
Vacuuming and dusting can just blow particles into the air. Instead, "wipe down the frame every other week with a rag and an all-purpose cleaner," Cobb said. "And wash bedding weekly-and blankets monthly-in hot water to kill unwanted bedfellows."
Prune your plants
Greenery in your home is a good thing-plants help purify the air, removing pollutants and giving off oxygen. But if you overwater and under-prune them, they can trigger allergies and asthma. "Damp soil and decaying leaves attract mold, which can cause coughing and breathing difficulties," Ehrlich said. Your protection plan: "Let the soil dry out between waterings," Cobb advised, "remove dead leaves, and dust healthy ones monthly."
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Weird Kentucky Derby Food
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The pickled walnut is a key ingredient in the Derby's classic and mysterious Henry Bain Sauce.Watkins Pickled Walnuts
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At the Kentucky Derby, the Hot Brown sandwich comes piled high with pimentos, bacon, tomatoes and, weirdest of all, canned peaches.Wikimedia Commons
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Some earlier versions of the Derby staple, "Burgoo," called for squirrel and opossums.iStock
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Foamy green Benedictine is a sandwich spread made with mayonnaise, cream cheese and cucumber, and colored with green food coloring, parsley, or spinach.iStock
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Pecans can be found beside the racetrack in all kinds of forms, including rolled into Bourbon Balls, poured into pecan pies and dusted with spiced chili.iStock
On May 5th, the Churchill Downs racetrack will host the "the greatest two minutes in sports," the 138th Kentucky Derby. The Derby is America's original, extravagant springtime sports party and it's full of its own culinary customs. Before you start cooking up more traditional Derby-related eats like pecan pie and Bourbon Balls, have a look some weird cousins of classic Kentucky Derby cuisine, gathered by Yahoo.com.
Pickled Walnuts
The pickled walnut is a key ingredient in the classic and mysterious Henry Bain Sauce. The sweet-sour-spicy beef sauce was invented by the headwaiter at the Louisville Pendennis Country Club around 1881.
The sauce's strange list of ingredients can be a little off-putting, (chili sauce, Tabasco, pickled walnuts, ketchup, A-1 sauce, Major Grey's chutney) but it is a staple for any Derby party. Joy Perrine, Susan Reigler, and Pam Spaulding, authors of the "Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book," recommend pouring the concoction over a block of cream cheese and serving it with crackers.
Another Nut
It's almost a no-brainer that pecans are the darling of the Kentucky Derby.The nuts are everywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, and the Kentucky Derby is no exception.
Pecans can be found beside the racetrack in all kinds of forms, including rolled into Bourbon Balls, poured into pecan pies and dusted with spiced chili.
While it may seem perfectly normal for there to be a pecan and Kentucky Derby relationship, reviewing cookbooks like "The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook" by Albert Schmid and Dean Fearin, show that pecans make the crossover from normal nut to a full-on obsession. Maybe it's because pecans serve as the perfect pairing for the Derby's favorite drink -- bourbon. Â
Mushy Kentucky Derby Stew
If you've never been to Churchill Downs, don't be alarmed if someone stops you to tell you where to get the best "Burgoo." The weird three meat and vegetable stew is one of the oldest food traditions in the state.Â
The dish is slow-cooked in large batches and has a history of containing some pretty weird ingredients. Some earlier versions "Burgoo" or "Brunswick Stew" called for squirrel, opossums, and about any other forest dweller that walked or flew.  Today, the most common meats used in "Burgoo" are beef, lamb, pork, and poultry. Â
Click here for a recipe for Burgoo.
Funny green Kentucky Derby sandwich spread
Foamy green Benedictine is a sandwich spread made with mayonnaise, cream cheese and cucumber, and colored with green food coloring, parsley, or spinach. The spread was first created in the late 1800's by a Louisville caterer named Jennie C. Benedict. Although this recipe can look strange and moldy to outsiders, it is staple of the Kentucky Derby.Â
Click here to see our recipe for Benedictine.
Strange Kentucky Derby sandwich gets stranger
The Hot Brown is the original sandwich of the Kentucky Derby. The open faced ham and turkey sandwich was named after the Brown Hotel where it was invented by Fred Schmidt in 1929.Â
While the general appearance of this sandwich is strange enough, the Derby's traditional additions to the sandwich are downright bizarre. At the Kentucky Derby, the Hot Brown comes piled high with pimentos, bacon, tomatoes and, weirdest of all, canned peaches.
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Obama Kicks Off Re-Election Bid
President Obama officially begins his re-election campaign Saturday with stops in swing states Ohio and Virginia, though he's been in campaign mode for months, traversing the country talking about election-issue topics.
Obama won Ohio and Virginia in his 2008 election, and this will be at least his fourth visit this year to each of the states.
The campaign begins this afternoon at Ohio State University, where the president and first lady Michelle Obama will be joined by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
“It's rally day. Are you fired up? Because we're ready to go,†the first lady tweeted before she and the president flew to Ohio, which Obama won four years ago with 51.3 percent of the vote.
No Republican has won the general election without winning the state, which has 18 electoral votes.
Likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney -- who started his campaign last summer -- has campaigned in Ohio three times in the past several weeks and is scheduled to return with a town hall-style meeting Monday in Cleveland.
The Obama campaign appears to have two themes for the events, both on college campuses. A banner at the Ohio event reads “Ready to Go,†with the larger, 2012 theme being “Forward.â€
The president has already attended 124 fundraisers to get money for his cause, though Saturday officially kicks off the campaign.
Though Ohio and Virginia have jobless rates below the national average, the trips come amid polls that continue to show a close race and a downbeat Labor Department report Friday that showed the jobless rate at 8.1 percent in April, but only 115,000 jobs being added that month.
The most recent poll by Quinnipiac University showed Romney ahead in Ohio , 44 percent to 42 percent, within the poll's margin of error but a significant change since the school's March poll that had Obama leading by 6 percentage points.
Quinnipiac pollsters note two significant factors on how Romney cut into the president's lead.
“Now the de facto nominee, Romney is no longer being attacked by his fellow Republicans, who are closing ranks behind him. Second, voter optimism about the economy has leveled off,†they said.
The president will visit Virginia Commonwealth University for the other part of the Saturday trip, marking the second time in two days he has been in the state. Obama spoke with students Friday at a northern Virginia high school.
A Washington Post poll released this week showed Obama leading Romney in Virginia 51 percent to 44 percent, among registered voters, essentially the same numbers as a Post poll taken in April-May 2011.
Fox News Channel political analyst Dick Morris said Saturday the recent polls result are misleading because those surveyed should be un-registered voters, not likely voters.
“Obama will not get the undecided vote,†he said.
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Civil War Wreck Blocking Route to be Raised
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May 4, 2012: This photo shows a buoy from Old Fort Jackson marking the shipwreck of the CSS Georgia, a Confederate warship that sank in the Savannah River nearly 148 years ago, in Savannah, Ga.
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May 4, 2012: This undated image provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shows a rendering of the CSS Georgia, a Confederate warship that sank in the Savannah River nearly 148 years ago in Savannah, Ga.
Before government engineers can deepen one of the nation's busiest seaports to accommodate future trade, they first need to remove a $14 million obstacle from the past -- a Confederate warship rotting on the Savannah River bottom for nearly 150 years.
Confederate troops scuttled the ironclad CSS Georgia to prevent its capture by Gen. William T. Sherman when his Union troops took Savannah in December 1864. It's been on the river bottom ever since.
Now, the Civil War shipwreck sits in the way of a government agency's $653 million plan to deepen the waterway that links the nation's fourth-busiest container port to the Atlantic Ocean. The ship's remains are considered so historically significant that dredging the river is prohibited within 50 feet of the wreckage.
So the Army Corps of Engineers plans to raise and preserve what's left of the CSS Georgia. The agency's final report on the project last month estimated the cost to taxpayers at $14 million. The work could start next year on what's sure to be a painstaking effort.
And leaving the shipwreck in place is not an option: Officials say the harbor must be deepened to accommodate supersize cargo ships coming through an expanded Panama Canal in 2014 -- ships that will bring valuable revenue to the state and would otherwise go to other ports.
Underwater surveys show two large chunks of the ship's iron-armored siding have survived, the largest being 68 feet long and 24 feet tall. Raising them intact will be a priority. Researchers also spotted three cannons on the riverbed, an intact propeller and other pieces of the warship's steam engines. And there's smaller debris scattered across the site that could yield unexpected treasures, requiring careful sifting beneath 40 feet of water.
"We don't really have an idea of what's in the debris field," said Julie Morgan, a government archaeologist with the Army Corps. "There could be some personal items. People left the ship in a big hurry. Who's to say what was on board when the Georgia went down."
Also likely to slow the job: finding and gently removing cannonballs and other explosive projectiles that, according to Army Corps experts, could still potentially detonate.
That's a massive effort for a warship that went down in Civil War history as an ironclad flop.
The Civil War ushered in the era of armored warships. In Savannah, a Ladies Gunboat Association raised $115,000 to build such a ship to protect the city. The 120-foot-long CSS Georgia had armor forged from railroad iron, but its engines proved too weak to propel the ship's 1,200-ton frame against river currents. The ship was anchored on the riverside at Fort Jackson as a floating gun battery.
Ultimately the Georgia was scuttled by its own crew without having ever fired a shot in combat.
"I would say it was an utter failure," said Ken Johnston, executive director of the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Ga., who says the shipwreck nonetheless has great historical value. "It has very clearly become a symbol for why things went wrong for the Confederate naval effort."
As a homespun war machine assembled by workers who likely had never built a ship before, the CSS Georgia represents the South's lack of an industrial base, Johnston said. The North, by contrast, was teeming with both factories and laborers skilled at shipbuilding. They churned out a superior naval fleet that enabled the Union to successfully cut off waterways used to supply Confederate forces.
Despite its functional failures, the shipwreck's historical significance was cemented in 1987 when it won a place on the National Register of Historic Places, the official listing of treasured sites and buildings from America's past. That gave the Georgia a measure of protection -- dredging near the shipwreck was prohibited.
Still, a great deal of damage had already been done. The last detailed survey of the ship in 2003 found it in pieces and its hull apparently disintegrated. Erosion had taken a large toll, and telltale marks showed dredging machinery had already chewed into the wreckage.
Salvaging the remains will likely move slowly.
Divers will need to divide the site into a grid to search for artifacts and record the locations of what they find. The large sections or armored siding will likely need to be cradled gently by a web of metal beams to raise them to the surface intact, said Gordon Watts, an underwater archaeologist who helped lead the 2003 survey of the shipwreck.
The Army Corps' report also notes special care will be needed find and dispose of any cannonballs and other explosive projectiles remaining on the riverbed.
"If there is black powder that's 150 years old, and if it is dry, then the stability of it has deteriorated," Watts said. "You'd want to be as careful as humanly possible in recovering the stuff."
Once the remains of the Georgia are removed from the river and preserved by experts, the Army Corps will have to decide who gets the spoils. Morgan said ultimately the plan is to put the warship's artifacts on public display. But which museum or agency will get custody of them has yet to be determined.
Right now the Confederate shipwreck legally belongs to the U.S. Navy. More than 150 years after the Civil War began, the CSS Georgia is still officially classified as a captured enemy vessel.
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Mexican Massacre in Border City Violence
MEXICO CITY â€"  The bodies of 23 people were found hanging from a bridge or decapitated and dumped near city hall Friday in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, where drug cartels are fighting a bloody and escalating turf war.
Authorities found nine of the victims, including four women, hanging from an overpass leading to a main highway, said a Tamaulipas state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to provide information on the case.
Hours later, police found 14 human heads inside coolers outside city hall along with a threatening note. The 14 bodies were found in black plastic bags inside a car abandoned near an international bridge, the official said.
The official didn't release the contents of the note, or give a motive for the killings. But the city across the border from Laredo, Texas has recently been torn by a renewed turf war between the Zetas cartel, a gang of former Mexican special-forces soldiers, and the powerful Sinaloa cartel, which has joined forces with the Gulf cartel, former allies of the Zetas.
Local media published photos of the nine bloodied bodies, some with duct tape wrapped around their faces, hanging from the overpass along with a message threatening the Gulf cartel.
Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire met with Tamaulipas Gov. Egidio Torre Cantu on Friday and agreed to send more federal forces to the state, according to a statement from Poire's office.
Nuevo Laredo was the site of a 2003 dispute between the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels that set off a wave of violence that has left thousands dead and spread brutal violence across Mexico. That year, then-Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas was arrested and accused drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, sensing weakness , tried to move in on Nuevo Laredo, unleashing a bloody battle.
The city of tree-covered plazas and hacienda-style restaurants was transformed as the Zetas, then working as enforcers for the Gulf cartel, and Sinaloa cartel fighters waged battles with guns and grenades in broad daylight.
Killings and police corruption became so brazen that then President Vicente Fox was forced to send in hundreds of troops and federal agents, and the only man brave enough to take the job of police chief was gunned down hours after he was sworn in.
The Zetas won that fight and have since ruled the city with fear, threatening police, reporters and city officials and extorting money from businesses. They broke off their alliance with the Gulf cartel in 2010, worsening the violence across northeast Mexico.
But last month, 14 mutilated bodies were found in a vehicle left in the city center. Some media outlets reported that the Sinaloa cartel took responsibility for those bodies and in a message allegedly signed by its leader, Guzman, said the group was now back in Nuevo Laredo "to clean" the city.
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Short on Land, D.C. Real Estate Looks to the Sky
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Aug. 2009: The Washington skyline featuring, from left, the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the Capitol.AP
The nation's capital has yet to amass skyscrapers -- defining itself instead with such iconic structures as the Washington Monument and blocks of squat-but-serious-looking federal building. But city officials want to change that situation, saying Washington is running out of commercial property and needs Congress' help to keep their economy humming.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray has asked GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton about possible ways to amend the city's general height restriction of 130 feet.
Gray, a Democrat, and others say the city needs minor height variances and perhaps an allowance on the maximum number of occupants inside apartments, offices and other buildings to keep pace with the robust local economy, including a hot housing market.
Mr. Issa, whose House oversight committee has congressional jurisdiction over city affairs, has shown a willingness since Republicans took control of the lower chamber two years ago to help the Democrat-controlled city. He has attempted to give the city more autonomy over its budget and even tried to help get rid of the Occupy D.C. encampment.
And he appears to have an open mind about this idea.
Issa told The Washington Post that those who want to increase the height limit are concerned about the potential impact on vistas. But the real question is whether federal laws should be loosened to allow them to work with historical groups and that was inclined to say yes.
Norton, the District's non-voting House member, has been an ardent supporter of preserving the city's original architectural look, but recently said she is open to suggestions about increasing building heights, particularly to suggestions about changes outside the core downtown.
“The common understanding that our identity as a city depends on the Height Act is so strong that no one has approached my office about changes in the heights of buildings permitted here,†she said. “However, … no idea is beyond examination but the implications range from technical to profound.â€
This is certainly not the first time somebody has tried to increase the height limit. And civic groups are expected to pose opposition long before Congress even considers the proposal or it reaches the president's desk.
Still, Issa said Congress could take up the issue by late summer or early fall in an attempt to address non-partisan issues in an election year.
Though most people assume the so-called Height Act was created to preserve vistas of the Capitol Rotunda, the 550-foot-tall Washington Monument and other landmark structures, it was approved by Congress in 1899 after residents complained about the 160-foot-tall Cairo apartment building in the DuPont Circle neighborhood.
“We haven't come to any firm conclusions, but we are definitely talking about it,†Gray told The Post. “It would help hugely with economic development.â€
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